When the blinding blue light faded, we suddenly found ourselves back in our guild bedroom. I peered around blearily for a moment, pulling away from Kubo and Snowflake to rub my eyes.
"Where...?" Sakura mused softly, tilting her head curiously.
"This is our room at the guild," Kubo said, pointing her attention to the few features of the room to show her around. I watched him speak to her for a moment, before realizing that Snowflake was no longer standing at my side. I spun around, looking for her worriedly.
Ignoring the rest of us, Snowflake had carried the fallen pokemon we had rescued over to her bed, and slowly let her down onto it. I watched from afar, hesitating to step closer, as she arranged the pokemon into a more comfortable position. Snowflake sighed sadly, deeply worried about the pokemon's well-being. Then she blinked, noticing me as I watched nervously from across the room. She smiled at me and gestured for me to come closer.
I stepped up to them and peered down at the fallen pokemon a little closer. Her pink face was bruised black and blue, and it was twisted up in unconscious pain. I could sympathise with that. So many pokemon were suffering because of these beasts. She didn't deserve this... she seemed so small and fragile...
"I always heard stories," Sakura's voice was suddenly at my side, making me jump out of my thoughts. I turned to her and Kubo, who had joined us in watching the strange pokemon sleep. "Everyone said that an ancient, powerful pokemon lived in that castle on the lake. They said it was our guardian, and that we should never disturb it. But I never imagined that it'd be like... her." Sakura sighed softly, looking away in thought.
She peered back up at us, hesitantly. "Do you think the guild will be able to help her?"
Snowflake nodded, a soft gentleness in her voice. "I'm sure she'll be fine..."
Kubo puffed out his chest seriously. "If she's gonna get the guild's help, they gotta know we're here! C'mon guys, let's go!" We all nodded seriously at that and turned to leave. As I moved to follow Kubo out the door, I noticed that Snowflake wasn't coming with us. I turned back, spotting her still standing in the same place, watching us leave with hesitance in her eyes. The Vulpix lifted a paw to follow us, but bit her lip and stared down at the fallen pokemon. I couldn't help but grin knowingly.
She wanted to protect her.
"It's okay, Snowflake." I said, making her jump to attention. "Huh?"
"It's okay," I repeated, "you can stay here and look after her. We'll get help real quick, okay?" She nodded, relieved, and with that I quickly followed Kubo and Sakura out the door.
The guild was quiet in the late evening, but bedtime was not quite upon us yet. Most of the other apprentices were probably unwinding from their long, tiring adventures. There was no doubt in my mind that we had missed supper. It was no bother to me, though. With or without food, I'd be happy to lie down on my nice comfy bed after this whirlwind of a day.
"Hey, Heliolisk!" Kubo called, spotting the lizard pokemon patrolling the halls. He turned to us, alarmed for a moment.
"Huh? Oh! You two!" He gasped as Kubo, Sakura and I ran up to him.
He blinked at Sakura. "Huh? Who are...?"
"We'll have time for that later!" Kubo announced. "We found an injured pokemon on our mission and we need the nurse to take care of her, stat!" Kubo turned and pointed down the hall to our room.
"Oh goodness!" Heliolisk said worriedly, "I'll need to go wake her! Come, come now!" He started off down a different hallway towards the nurses office, with Kubo quickly at his heels. Sakura and I moved to follow as well, but a voice stopped us in our tracks.
"You two." I flinched. The voice was sharp and it cut through the air powerfully even though it was barely louder than a murmur.
It was the Guildmaster. I slacked my stance and, curious as to why I stopped, Sakura followed suit.
We turned to face her as Serperior slithered up to us, looking down her nose as usual. I gripped my bag and bowed, before standing up tall, trying to look strong. I met her gaze confidently, but the confidence quickly faltered, and I dropped my eyes back to the ground in shame. Something about her face made me feel like she knew... she could tell I had failed my mission.
Sakura peered up at her with an innocent tilt of her head. I could hardly believe the ease with which she met her eyes. "What do you want with us? We have someone we gotta to help right now!" She said, her voice filled with determination.
Serperior shook her head. "No, that won't be necessary. Your friend will be getting all the help they need."
Sakura seemed a little confused, but she said nothing. I stared at the ground pathetically, my shoulders slumped. Serperior was silent for a long moment, and I wondered if she wanted me to meet her eyes again. But I couldn't do it. I couldn't let her see how badly we had messed this us. How badly I had messed this up. I shut my eyes defeatedly, letting my head slump down onto my chest.
"Do not beat yourself up so much." The Guildmaster said, her voice authoritative. I blinked my eyes open, lifting my head. I peered up through my eyelashes at her. "You did everything you could've done. In time, you will find your friend. But for now... you must rest."
I blinked, surprised. Her tone sounded almost like she was giving me orders, but her words were clearly supposed to be comforting. "After all, it was not a total failure. You have saved a life, and..." She paused, turning her attention back to Sakura, who had been quietly watching her in confusion. "you have made a new friend."
Sakura flinched under the sudden acknowledgement. "Um..." She stuttered.
"Who could this new friend be?" Serperior mused to herself, not fully speaking to either of us.
Sakura choked on her words for a moment. I remembered my first time meeting Serperior, and was glad I wasn't the one going through that right now. "U-uh... my name is Sakura. My friend and I-... um, I was attacked by beasts near the Misty Valley, and I would've died if Moss and his team hadn't found me." She turned to me for a moment, and I gave her a small smile of encouragement. She grinned back weakly.
"I helped them through the valley and, well... here I am." She shrugged hopelessly, giving a nervous laugh.
The Guildmaster nodded with a soft hum. She turned back to me again, her expression blank, yet somewhat gentle. "It seems you've saved not one, but two lives today. A definitive success, even if you could not accomplish your goal." She nodded to herself thoughtfully. "I hope you continue to find such success in your future missions."
I gaped at her. She... really thought I had found success? Even though the only person I truly intended to save was lost? Even though I failed my real mission?
Not waiting for a response, Serperior moved as if to leave, but I stuttered out in protest. "W-wait!" She froze, eyeing me blankly. I fumbled my hands, my eyes dropping back to the floor. "Excuse me, Guildmaster. I just... have one question." Serperior did not move, almost as if she didn't hear me. But I could tell somehow that she was simply waiting for me to continue. I paused, but forced myself to speak.
"Sakura wants to help us with finding a way to stop the beasts. She wants to help pokemon who've been hurt like she was." I turned to her, and Sakura smiled brightly. I looked up at Serperior, a bit braver now. "Can she join our team? Without her help, we wouldn't have been able to save anyone."
Sakura stood up tall beside me, feigning confidence again. "I really want to help them," she said, "I promise I'll be useful! I'll do all the training needed, I'll work as hard as you want, I don't care what it is! I want to get stronger and help save others!"
She stood proudly with a confident grin on her face, waiting for the Guildmaster's answer. When the answer failed to come, and silence slowly descended over us, Her ears and tail drooped, and her shouldered hunched anxiously. Her gaze fell to the ground. "I- I swear I know how to fight. My father was a fighting-type pokemon- a Lucario! He trained me since I was little, s-so I'm ready for whatever it is I gotta do as an apprentice!"
Serperior remained silent for another moment, making me fidget nervously. Nobody knew what went on in the Guildmasters mind. Was she going to turn Sakura down? I hadn't even considered...
"If you are unable to meet my expectations, you will have to leave." Her stoic voice finally said, and the two of us jumped and stared up at her in surprise. Wordlessly, Sakura gave a shaky nod.
"You will need to stay in the room across the hall to your teammates. Make yourself at home." With that, she turned to make her leave, but paused for a second. She looked back, her eyes stoney and serious. "Oh, and Moss... That injured pokemon you brought here. Take care of her, because if something happens to her, it will be your responsibility. Understand?"
I stumbled over my words, gasping wordlessly. "Ah-! I- um-" A part of me was relieved that I'd be able to help take care of her. She had been told a lot about my friend and about the beasts. I had a lot to ask her once she woke up, and I didn't want to be kept away from that. But on the other hand... I just couldn't understand Serperior's motives. "Er, of course, Guildmaster!" I finally managed, taking a swift, anxious bow.
Satisfied, Serperior nodded to me before turning and leaving towards the front gates of the guild. Sakura and I watched her go in silence for a moment. We peered at each other quietly. Once she was out of sight, I let out a deep breath of air and slumped over. I didn't realize how tense I had gotten. "So! ...That's our Guildmaster." I said with a shaky laugh.
Sakura tilted her head in confusion. "I'm... not sure if she was nice or not."
"Welcome to the club," I sighed grinning in amusement. Sakura giggled softly. "I guess I really am in the club now, huh?" She smiled at me, genuinely relieved. "For a second there I didn't think she'd say yes!" I hugged my arms and smiled back. I could still feel a weight pressing into my chest, but a small weight was lifted from my shoulders. Hope flickered in my heart.
"We should go check on the others... and tell them the good news." I said gently.
"Yeah," Sakura breathed, "let's go!"
We made our way back down the hallway to the nurse's room. The guild was even quieter now, and I couldn't help but wonder if it was bedtime yet. I didn't want to be tired in the morning...
We turned a corner, and found a pokemon I hadn't seen before walkin down the hallway towards us. He blinked at us, suddenly alert and serious. "Hey! What are the both of you doing out here?" He asked with a deep rumbling voice before stepping up to us. I recognized him as a Haxorus, and he stood tall above the both of us, his large ax-like tusks almost brushing the ceiling above his head. He held a torch in his left hand to ward away the growing darkness.
"We're looking for the nurse," Sakura said, her voice betraying her unease. She pointed down the hall with her paw, "we just brought someone home that was really hurt!"
Haxorus hummed, scratching his chin. "Were you with Heliolisk and that Froakie?" He asked. Sakura and I nodded. "I see..." he mused.
"Well, I suppose I can let you go. But I believe Heliolisk and your friend have already alerted her."
"Oh!" I chirped. "So we've got to go back to our room, then! Thank you, sir." I smiled up at him, but he held out his had to stop me.
"One more thing," he grumbled. I paused, blinking in confusion. He sighed. "You shouldn't be out this late. Things aren't usually like this around here, but ever since our rations got stolen a few days ago, We've been upping the security." He crouched down to eye us seriously. "I've been taken off my team for now, to be the night guard. No apprentice is allowed to leave their room after dark, or else I bring them to the Guildmaster." He looked between us, his glare stony and chilling. "I don't want to see the two of you again, got it?"
Sakura nodded stiffy from beside me. "Y-yep! We hear you loud and clear!" I nodded in agreement, but couldn't force my voice from my throat. This guy... well, I had to give the Guildmaster kudos for choosing the perfect guy to play night guard.
He stepped to the side and turned around, patrolling back down the hallway from which he came. Sakura and I likewise turned tail and ran back down the hallway, finding our way back to the barracks. We didn't speak a word to each other, preferring to just make it back as quickly as possible.
We arrived at our room in a matter of minutes. I opened the door and followed Sakura inside, finding that the room was much more crowded than when we left.
Kubo sat on a stool next to the table, and was the closest to the door. He waved at me and Sakura as we entered the room, but my attention was drawn elsewhere. An unfamiliar pokemon was leaning over Snowflakes bed, bandaging the unconscious pokemon that laid in it. She must've been the nurse, and after my first instinct was to think, 'is that Blissey?' I realized that she was a Chansey. I hummed to myself. Maybe they were related?
The nurse spoke softly with Heliolisk, who stood closeby. He had his arms crossed seriously as he watched her work. Snowflake hovered nervously around the three of them, not wanting to get in the way but dearly wanting to see what was going on.
"Where'd you guys disappear to?" Kubo asked, drawing my attention back to him. Sakura climbed onto another stool to use as a stepping stone up onto the table. She sat on it and collapsed into a heap with an exhausted sigh. Kubo chuckled lightly as I sat on the stool next to him.
"That bad, huh?" He said with a grin.
I smiled and stretched my arms above my head with a sigh. "It was stressful, but everything turned out okay, I think. The Guildmaster says Sakura is allowed on the team!"
"Score!" Kubo cheered, reaching a hand up onto the table to high-five Sakura. She took one look at him before sighing tiredly and rolling over to face away from him. He laughed, "yeah, the Guildmaster really leaves an impression on ya, huh?"
"No kidding," I said, returning my gaze to the nurse as she worked. "For a second there, I thought she'd turn Sakura down."
"Hmmm," Kubo hummed, nodding seriously. "While you were busy getting Sakura recruited, I needed to wake nurse Chansey. And I also had to help carry her equipment. Do you have any idea how heavy that stuff is?"
I laughed softly. "Sorry I couldn't be there to help."
He waved me off, "It's fine. You should've seen Snowflake when we came in. She was so worried!"
I peered over to Snowflake, but she seemed not to hear us. She continued to pace around the nurse and Heliolisk, biting her lip and her ears twitching frantically. "She doesn't look much better now," I noted.
Kubo nodded. "She'll do this all night if we don't stop her." He hummed, scratching his chin with his hand. "When you were knocked out in my house, she kept me up at night with all her worrying. Made me anxious."
I blinked in surprise. "She was like this when I was knocked out?"
He nodded. "Oh, yeah. Man you should've seen her, haha!" He waved to Snowflake, before cupping his mouth and calling to her. "Hey, Snowflake! C'mere!"
She jumped in surprise with a small squeak of surprise. Snowflake turned to us, her brows scrunched up in annoyance. She did not look impressed. Kubo was unfazed, waving her over with gusto. "C'mon!"
Snowflake groaned and rolled her eyes, before dragging herself over to us. She stood just in front of us, her nose turned up and her glare set on the Froakie. "What is it, Kubo?" She huffed.
"You're not gonna pace around all night again, are you?" He asked, a knowing grin slipping onto his face. Snowflake flushed, her annoyance being replaced with embarrassment. Her eyes flickered self-consciously over to me. "W-well I'm just concerned about Mesprit! Is that so bad?" She bit back, her face red.
I perked up. "Mesprit?"
I peered over at the bed, but I couldn't see the fallen pokemon from behind Chansey's back. "Is that her name?" I asked.
Snowflake nodded. "I overheard Heliolisk saying that she must be one of the lake guardians- he called her Mesprit."
"Ooh..." I breathed, leaning back in my stool to try and see around Chansey. Still no luck. "How's she doing, anyway?" I asked, looking back to Snowflake.
She sat on the ground with a tired sigh. "Oh, I hope she'll be okay... Chansey says her wounds aren't to be taken lightly." She turned around to peer over at them as well, wringing her lip in her teeth again.
Kubo's mood seemed to sober up after hearing that. "Man... this sucks." He said crossing his arms, his face stony. "I wish there was more we could do."
Snowflake and I nodded silently. "But all we can do is wait," Snowflake grumbled helplessly.
And wait we did. Snowflake did got get up and begin pacing again, instead she just sat with us, her back turned to she could continue to watch the nurse work from afar. I took a brief moment to peer up at Sakura as she laid curled up on the table. The Skitty was fast asleep, understandably exhausted from the day we just had. I leaned back against the edge of the table, ignoring how uncomfortable it was. Honestly, I envied her. What I wouldn't give to just have the nurse finish her work already, so we could finally get some rest...
I shut my eyes for a moment, letting all the stress and anxiety flow away for just a moment...
I jumped awake to Heliolisks loud voice calling for Sakura to wake up. I blinked, peering around to find Snowflake and Kubo still wide awake watching as Sakura yawned and stood up from her place on the table. I rubbed my heavy eyes and shook my head to try and wake myself up. I must've fallen asleep in my chair. How long had it been..?
"Chansey should probably take a look at you, too." Heliolisk hummed, rubbing his chin as Sakura stumbled off the table. The bandages wrapped around Sakura's body were dirty now from all the digging around we had done when looking for my friend. She could definitely look better.
Sakura shook her head lazily. She was clearly still half asleep. "Later... right now all I need is sleep."
Heliolisk hummed. "Alright, then. Come with me, we'll need to find you a room."
"Guildmaster said I'd be next door," Sakura said, her voice slurring a little from her exhaustion.
"Oh! Well, let me show you to your room, then!" Heliolisk said matter-of-factly. He guided Sakura to the door, before turning to me, Snowflake and Kubo with a nod. "Good night you three. Make sure to get some rest as well," he said, before shutting the door behind him.
We were yet not alone in the room though, as Chansey was still packing up most of her things. As she finished, I found that she still left quite a bit of stuff behind. Probably for convenience. She approached the three of us with a soft smile.
"I'm sorry to make you all wait so long. You're friend is stable for now, and I think she'll be fine as long as she gets the time to rest. It'll take time, but she'll recover." Chansey said, and I could tell that she was tired too. We did wake her up for this, I supposed. I opened my mouth to apologise, but Snowflake spoke over me.
"We'll make sure to take good care of her, ma'am." She said with a bow of her head.
Chansey smiled. "I'm sure you will. But for now, we all need to get some rest. If you need me, I'll tell Haxorus that it's okay for you leave your room, okay?"
I nodded hastily, but Snowflake and Kubo seemed a bit confused at that. Chansey didn't seem to notice their confusion, however. "Good night!" She chirped, before blowing out the last candle still lit in our room, and taking her leave.
As the door closed shut behind her, the three of us sat in the darkness completely at a loss. Unsure of what to do now, I peered between my two friends uneasily.
"Welp," Kubo huffed, "that was an... interesting day." He stood from his stool and stretched his arms. "But I'll be happy to leave it behind us." He concluded, strolling over to his bed and plopping down into it, rolling over so he could lay on his belly, his head propped up by his arms. He smiled at us before gazing curiously at Mesprit.
She looked like a mummy with all the bindings that covered her body. She had a splint on one arm and though she was breathing, it was so shallow that I could hardly see it. I couldn't imagine how much work the nurse had to have done in order to get her stable like this. I felt a sting of regret for wasting so much time searching for my friend when we should've been taking care of Mesprit from the get go. I knew my friend was gone, but my denial did nothing but endanger Mesprit further.
Still... It wasn't all bad. She was recovering- Chansey said she'd be all better eventually. It just took time. I almost smiled, looking into her calm and untroubled sleeping face. Her face had a surprising lack of binding around it, so I could see it clearly. She had a cute, youthful look that I wouldn't have expected from the description Sakura gave. An ancient pokemon, huh...
As me and Snowflake moved away from the table to stand over Mesprit, I noticed Kubo was also still examining her sleeping face. His mouth was agape, and I could tell he didn't realize it. He seemed to entranced by her, and I raised an eyebrow in confusion. What was he seeing that was so interesting? I peered back at Mesprit, but she still looked the same. Was I missing something?
Kubo leaned up and rested his chin in his hands, his elbows holding him up. "She's quite pretty now that she's all cleaned up, huh?" he murmured, his eyes flickering up to me and Snowflake. I tilted my head.
"Yeah, I guess..." I replied, though I failed to hide my confusion.
Snowflake rolled her eyes. "Of course that's the first thing you notice," she said with an incredulous grin. Kubo flushed and frowned at her.
"What's that supposed to mean!" He huffed, which only made Snowflake chuckle wryly. Kubo huffed again and rolled onto his back, crossing his arms as he stared up at the ceiling. "I just..." He sighed. "I just hope she wakes up soon. I wanna know what she knows. This whole business really bugs me."
"Well, I guess we just have to do more waiting, huh?" Snowflake said with a tired grin.
I nodded and crossed my arms. "This better not become a regular thing," I chuckled, before stepping up to my bed and collapsing down on it. I sighed happily, and could already feel sleep creeping along the edges of my mind. I could distantly hear Snowflake laugh at my words, but then she stopped suddenly.
I blinked my eyes open, peering over at her. She stared down at Mesprit, her face blank. For a moment I worried that there was something wrong with the injured pokemon, before Snowflake flushed in embarrassment.
"Ah... Mesprit is using my bed." She whispered awkwardly. "Where am I supposed to sleep?"
She looked around, and noticed me watching her. I grinned sympathetically at her. "You can sleep with me for now, if ya want?" I said softly, flushing a little myself at the suggestion.
Snowflake smiled shyly, but complied. She quickly, yet silently, padded over to my bed, standing over me for a moment's hesitation. Her white fur seemed to glow through the darkness. I rolled to face away from her and to give her some room, and she graciously curled up at my side. I could feel her cool fur press up against my back, chilling me a little.
"Good night, Moss," she said, a smile in her voice.
"Night, Snowflake." I replied, my voice drawling a little from exhaustion.
"What, is nobody gonna say goodnight to me?" Kubo's offended voice called from across the room.
"No," I mumbled tiredly.
Kubo gasped dramatically, and said something along the lines of, 'how could you!?' but my mind was already in the middle of drifting away. I smiled sleepily and let my eyes finally slide shut.
For some reason, the soft coolness that radiated from Snowflake was more comforting than anything else I could imagine. Somehow, it managed to banish all worries from my mind. No fear for my friend, no worries about Mesprit, no anxieties about my future, or those beasts. It was just us, and for now, we were safe. I snuggled up closer to Snowflake, feeling her roll against me in return. And finally, after such a long and tiresome day, I managed to drift off into a comfortable sleep.
-
"Ah... O-ouchh..."
My ear twitched, and then my mind slowly drifted out of the darkness of sleep. It took me a long moment before I was awake enough to discern what the noise was that had awakened me.
"Ah-hooowww... " there was the sound of stifled, wet sniffling, "urrfff..."
I blinked my eyes open, and my ears jumped up, fully alert. Someone was crying- scratch that- more like sobbing.
I lifted my head, letting my eyes adjust to the darkness as I observed my room. It was still the middle of the night, if the moonlight gently shining through the window had anything to say. I rolled onto my back to peer at Snowflake, who was sleeping soundlessly at my side. Absently, I placed a hand on her shoulder to pet her fur comfortingly. I raised my eyes in continued search of the crying, and realized that the figure curled up on Snowflakes bed was twisting and turning in pain.
Mesprit...! She was awake!
I stumbled to my feet, much more awake now. I moved quickly yet quietly to her bed, bending down to peer closely at her. Her eyes were squeezed shut in pain, with pearls of tears trailing down her wet cheeks. She didn't seem to have noticed that I was there, as her head was tucked down under her arms as she twisted and turned painfully. I looked her over, but none of her bandages seemed to be bleeding through. I had no idea what was wrong, or how to comfort her. All I could think to do was place a very light hand down on her trembling shoulder.
"Hah!" She hissed in shock and pain, flinching away from my touch. But that movement only managed to pain her further, and she cringed, curling up tighter on herself. Still, she was fearfully aware of my presence now, and despite herself, she pried her eyes open to squint through her tears at me.
To my shock, her eyes seemed to glow through the darkness, shimmering a bright, vibrant amber colour. I forgot myself for a moment, gaping at the wondrous sight. I had to admit... I found it a lot easier to imagine her as a mysterious, mythical guardian now.
"Wh-... where...?" She croaked softly, wincing at the very act of speaking. "Where... a-am...?"
I wanted to comfort her, but I knew my touch would do nothing but hurt her. "You're safe- don't worry. We came to help you as quickly as we could." She blinked at me blankly, and I could tell she had a million questions that she was not well enough to ask. I cleared my throat nervously. "My name is Moss... I assume you've... heard of me?"
She managed a small shakey nod. I sighed in relief. She- too- seemed a bit less anxious knowing that she was in my presence. I wasn't a total stranger, at the very least. "Is there anything... I can do you help?" I asked softly. I just wanted to help...
"W-water," she breathed, her voice raspy. She shut her eyes and whined, trying to hold down her groans of pain. "P-please... make it stop..."
I hummed seriously. I wasn't sure if this world had anything like painkillers, but I could- at the very least- get her something to drink. "Just hold tight, okay? I'll be back as soon as possible."
I stood and turned, rushing out of the room as quietly as possible. It would be faster to do this by myself. The only place I could think of to go was the kitchen, where surely there was some water sitting around. I ran through the hallways as swiftly as possible, but on my travels I failed to remember something very important. Before I could realize what was happening, a vice-grip had locked around my wrist and had lifted me into the air.
"Waah!" I gasped, struggling helplessly. What...?
I craned my neck to look at the figure that was hovering over me, finding it to be the same Haxorus I encountered earlier. "o-oh! You!" I gasped, but before I could ask him for help, he growled.
"What did I tell you, kid? I said I didn't want to see you again!" He snarled, adjusting his grip on my arm and wrapping his arm around my chest instead. "we're going to the Guildmaster." He huffed gruffly.
"W-wait! Nurse Chansey said it was okay for me and my team to leave our rooms!" I struggled under his grasp, but he didn't even budge. "We have a patient to take care of- and she needs water and painkillers!"
He didn't stop walking, but he hummed in acknowledgement. "Hm. Now that I think about it, I suppose she did mention something like that to me..." He thought for a moment, finally pausing his movements. Then without warning, he ungraciously dropped me on the ground.
"Ouch!" I yelped.
"Shh!" He hissed, "We don't need you waking anybody else. C'mon. I'll bring you what you need."
And with that he began to walk off again. I stood, rubbing my behind grumpily. 'Maybe I wouldn't've yelped if you hadn't just dropped me from so high up,' I thought with a huff, but quickly scampered after him. Every one step for him was three steps for me, and I struggled to keep pace with him.
Haxorus lead me down a hallway that lead to the Nurses office, and to my surprise, he lead me inside. Chansey was sitting at a table, a single candle illuminating her work as she seemed to be writing something on a piece of paper. She blinked in surprise to see me and Haxorus enter her room. "Huh? What is it? Is there something wrong with our patient?" She asked worriedly, moving out of her chair.
"This boy needs water and painkillers," Haxorus said, his deep voice rumbling powerfully, "he said you authorized him to leave his room." While it wasn't worded like a question, I could tell it was. I wondered why he felt the need to ask, when surely he already knew the answer.
"Oh yes, yes of course," Chansey said, waving her hand flippantly. Her gaze was not on us as she spoke, already rummaging through her room for the pills she needed. "I'm surprised she's already awake! That means she's doing even better than I expected," Chansey said happily, pulling a small container from one of her cupboards. "Here it is," She mumbled softly.
Haxorus and I continued to stand at the door, watching as she moved about. I started to feel antsy, shifting from foot to foot as I watched. I needed to get back...
"Now, don't be afraid to come get more help if you need it, okay?" Chansey sang, suddenly stepping in front of me. I jumped, craning my neck just to be able to look her in the face.
"R-right," I stuttered, caught a bit off guard. Chansey handed me the items, and I held the cup of water sturdily in one paw and the two small pills in the other. I bowed my head, "Thank you, doctor." I mumbled, before turning and leaving. From behind me, I heard Haxorus thank her for her time, before his heavy footsteps followed after mine. It didn't take long for him to catch up with me.
I turned to him. "What?" I asked, a bit confused. Couldn't he see the situation was under control now?
"I need to escort you back to your room," he grumbled, "I can't have pokemon running around the guild without supervision."
I huffed, looking away from him. "Fine, but I'm not doing anything wrong. I just want to help my... friend."
"I know." He said, and I peered back up at him in surprise. That almost sounded... sympathetic? He shook his head with a tired sigh. "I'm sorry." He said curtly, frowning at me. "I don't mean to be so short with you. I just hate that the Guildmaster seated me with this dumb job."
I breathed in amusement, grinning back up at him wryly. "Yeah... I guess you don't get much sleep, huh?"
He nodded, "you don't know the half of it, kid."
We reached my room, and I paused long enough before entering to wave goodbye to him. He waved back and continued walking down the hallway, ready to get back to his patrolling. I shut the door and turned around, peering over at Snowflakes bed. From across the room I could see Mesprit's eyes glowing softly, staring back at me. I could see pain in her eyes, and felt empowered, knowing that I'd be able to make it go away now.
I stepped up to her, wordlessly showing her the pills. She clenched her teeth, struggling to open her mouth. I put the cup of water down to help her shift into a position more suitable for eating. She breathed heavily, but once she was able to calm down and hold her mouth open, I placed the pills on her tongue and handed her the cup. Her hands shook so badly that I needed to help support them, but once she managed to take a sip and swallow the pills, she seemed to immediately calm down.
With a deep sigh, she flopped back down onto the bed, relief filling her eyes. She laid on her back and stared up at me, wiping her wet cheeks with the backs of her hands. Slowly, I could see a shaky, thankful smile stretch across her cheeks. "Moss..." She breathed, before her eyes slowly fell shut.
I blinked down at her, watching as her breathing became slow and relaxed. Hopefully, now she'd be able to sleep comfortably. I placed the cup on the table and made my way back to my bed. Snowflake had stretched out across it in the time I had been missing, and I chuckled softly at that. I gently pushed her aside and rolled up next to her. She sighed, but didn't awaken.
I peered around the darkness of my room, wondering how long it'd be until morning. As long as Mesprit got a good sleep, I supposed it didn't matter. She was the only hope we had of finding my friend, but more than that, she was someone we had managed to save, if no one else. The Guildmasters words whispered through my mind.
We hadn't failed, not entirely. Mesprit was here, and she was alive. She was going to get better. We managed to do some good in the world.
'Hold on, my friend. We'll be able to save you too... I'm sure of it.'
